Three Ways To Be A Team Player

So you want to team with a government supplier. That's understandable--market estimates show that anywhere from 30 percent to 50 percent of federal IT spending goes to the top 10 suppliers, which means they hold the big contracts with small business requirements and they have deep pockets. You pick up the phone, work out a teaming arrangement, and the work starts to pour in, right?

If only it were that easy. The competitive nature of the market and established relationships with other subcontractors make teaming with suppliers a big challenge for many solution providers. In the best partnerships, all players bring mutual value to the opportunity. It sounds simple, but it can actually be rather complex. You must know the government's priorities, have relationships with the federal decision-makers and offer a unique solution that would be deemed valuable by both the government customer and the supplier. And, like it or not, you have to offer your products and services with deep discounts if you expect to be considered.

Those challenges aside, a solution provider has to know the playing field. That said, potential teaming scenarios emerge in one of three ways.

1. Let's say you've done your homework and understand which supplier is in favor with the end customer (perhaps it's the incumbent, or a systems integrator that has a proven track record in the particular requirements of the program). You get in early on the bid and proposal process. You understand both the operational resources and the sales and capture process of the supplier, and with proper positioning you get written into the initial proposal as a team member with deliverables. That's good, but getting on the initial bid isn't always enough. Unless your actual work effort is written into the initial bid, potential opportunities are like open season. Fail to establish your value to the project up front and there's a good chance you'll be a commodity service provider fighting for task orders after the contract is awarded.

2. Let's say that the initial proposal process came and went, and the contract has already been awarded. While having your company's name on the contract is always preferable, don't think opportunities disappear just because you aren't a member of the defined team. Oftentimes, large suppliers, in an effort to perform on the contract, open the door to other contractors. I call this a "free for all." The award is announced, large suppliers bring in small businesses through mentor protege relationships, they decide to hold a post bidder's conference, and all sorts of companies emerge from the woodwork. You must have impeccable timing and existing relationships to win these opportunities, and rates are inevitably poor; but again, if you bring unique value to the equation, you could tap into some long-term opportunity.

3. Then there's the scenario where you swoop in to take over work from another contractor. The project is mature and the current provider isn't meeting the needs of the large supplier. This is a pure relationship sell and the benefits are often minimal. You're forced into the least common working relationship, providing hit-and-miss resources that are more timely than strategic. Essentially, this is a case of cleaning up the scraps that are left behind. Winning federal business takes a lot of money and is risky, so you'll have to decide whether the bidding complexities associated with the chase are worth it.

Obviously, a company must have the fundamentals down before it can ever expect to be considered for a team. For every company that comes up short, there are plenty more that will add value. Get certified under the Capability Maturity Model Integration initiative for effective processes, offer cost-accounting capabilities and tout a strong financial balance sheet.

And remember, proving yourself valuable over time leads to new opportunities as large suppliers pull you into their inner circles. Not every squirrel finds an acorn, but finding the oak tree that produces acorns is a great way to start eating. Happy hunting.

Mike Priddy is president of Intervise, a solution provider based in Gaithersburg, Md.